Management Team
Aidan Courtney (Chief Executive Officer)
Aidan is the Chief Executive Officer of Roslin Cells. Since moving to Scotland fifteen years ago, Aidan has worked with a wide variety of high technology start-ups and early stage companies. In each case his role has been to help the core scientists and engineers transform their novel technology into a strong business proposition. Most recently co-founding Roslin Cells Ltd and initiating the creation of Roslin Cellab Ltd.
After graduating in Economics, Aidan qualified as a Chartered Accountant and worked for eight years in property finance, before moving over to the high tech sector. He holds a masters degree in law specialising in Intellectual Property law and is a visiting fellow at the School of Law at the University of Edinburgh. He is a member of the BIA RegMed Industry Group Advisory Committee and the Scottish Stem Cell Network Advisory Board.
Paul De Sousa (Chief Scientific Officer)
Dr. Paul De Sousa has trained as a developmental and reproductive biologist, with a specific interest in mechanisms controlling the creation of developmentally competent eggs and embryos and cell regeneration. In 1998 he joined the Roslin Institute in Scotland where he began applying his basic research interests to animal biotechnology. In 2002 his group began focusing on the derivation of new human embryonic stem cells in accordance with emerging regulatory standards for therapeutic use. In 2005 he joined the University of Edinburgh as a Senior Research Fellow establishing a laboratory focused on the use of human embryonic stem cells in regenerative medicine and underpinning egg and embryo biotechnology. In concert with this he co-founded Roslin Cells Ltd.
Dr. De Sousa is the Person Responsible named on our HFEA licence and acts as the Designated Individual named on our HTA licence.
Janet Downie (Chief Operating Officer)
Janet is the Chief Operating Officer for Roslin Cells and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the internal operations within the company. Janet has a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences and over 18 years experience of working in a regulated scientific environment, both GMP and GLP. When she started her career she joined Inveresk Research as a Research Scientist, and later became a Study Director. She later moved into Quality Assurance for PPL – Therapeutics which was a leading Scottish biotechnology company. Prior to joining Roslin Cells, Janet was GMP Quality Assurance Manager with Charles River Laboratories overseeing quality for contract batch release testing and IMP manufacturing. Janet joined Roslin Cells as Quality Manager in 2007 and later took over as Operations Manager. Janet went on to build a dedicated team of quality focused, Development, Production, Quality Control and Quality Assurance professionals delivering clinical grade human embryonic stem cells. Janet became the Chief Operating Officer for Roslin Cells in March 2012.
Jonny McMichael (New Business Manager)
Jonny is responsible for managing and developing Roslin Cells’ new business activities. He holds a BSc in Medical Microbiology and a PhD in Respiratory Medicine from the University of Edinburgh. Jonny also holds management qualifications awarded by the Chartered Management Institute, and is a Chartered Biologist.
Between academic degrees Jonny developed a taste for industry, working with the international CRO Quintiles and the US pharma company Pathogenesis Corporation. Since completing his PhD he has gained 9 years’ experience in business development, working firstly with a Scottish SME, including completion of a successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership programme, and later in positions of increasing responsibility with the leading multinational Charles River. During his time with Charles River Jonny held several high-profile sales positions, including Commercial Manager for the Nordic Region, Business Specialist Europe, and latterly Regional Sales Manager for the UK & Ireland. Jonny joined Roslin Cells in Dec 2012 to drive future growth of the company’s pluripotent stem cell and cell therapy manufacturing business streams.
Kevin Bruce (Cell Therapy Partnering Manager)
Kevin is the Cell Therapy Partnering Manager at Roslin Cells. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology and Biotechnology and has over 11 years experience working to GMP. In 2001 Kevin joined PPL Therapeutics applying GMP Quality Control to the manufacture of therapeutics from transgenic animals. Kevin then worked for Inveresk Research (subsequently Charles River Laboratories) managing contract research projects for biopharmaceutical products. In 2007 Kevin joined the Quality Control team at Roslin Cells and subsequently became Roslin Cells Quality Manager to play a pivotal role in implementing GMP standards for stem cell derivation and culture, and for the manufacture of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products. As the Cell Therapy Partnering Manager, Kevin is responsible for engaging with Roslin Cells partners to manage our collaborative projects. These projects encompass cell therapy development, GMP translation and manufacture for pre-clinical and clinical development.
Kathryn Reilly (Finance Manager)
Kathryn is the Finance Manager at Roslin Cells. An Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Kathryn joined the Roslin Foundation Group of Companies in 1998. Various roles within the Group included Business and Facilities Management as well as Finance/Accounting. She has also gained significant experience in the mechanics of Grant Funding during this time. Kathryn joined Roslin Cells in 2009 as Finance Manager, having provided a part-time finance service to the Company for 2 years prior to this. Before moving to Roslin, Kathryn worked within the textiles and textile engineering sectors as Business manager, Management and Financial Accountant.
